Mackenzie of Redcastle

In the late 1780s or early 1790s Kenneth Francis Mackenzie, a Scottish barrister, purchased Lusignan, a “very large” plantation in Demerara which generally “gave a very good income” and supporting the family for almost fifty years. Kenneth Francis Mackenzie was from a junior line of the Mackenzies of Redcastle, in Ross-shire.

Mackenzie's wife was Ann Townsend [1769-1846] and his will makes it clear that she owned slaves in her own right, which were placed on plantation Lusignan. She may have been related to either Thomas or William Townshend, who owned plantations in Berbice in the 1790s.

Mackenzie’s ties to the Caribbean area were strengthened when about 1793 he was appointed attorney general in Grenada, serving also as President of the Council.

Dr George Pinckard made an expedition up the Demerara river with Mackenzie in 1797 and also visited Lusignan[Pinckard, III, p380], a 500-acre coastal cotton plantation which was one of the few plantations with an ornamental garden.